This corgi got fat-shamed, and the internet leaped to his defense

That latter category would include Pax, an Instagram-famous corgi whose weight was called into question by a body-shaming commenter in response to this photo from his trip to the groomers.

“That poor dog is obese,” one woman remarked of Pax, who lives in Houston with fellow corgis Carter and Apollo.

Pax’s owner didn’t let the comment slide, firing back, “Actually, b****, the healthy weight for an adult male corgi is 25-30 lbs. and he weighs 26. Go troll on someone else’s page and find something better to do than hate on a precious dog that looks better than you ever will.”

What followed was a fierce, and somewhat surreal, debate about fat-shaming, pet owner responsibility, unflattering photo angles, and the physiology of the average corgi frame.

Some piled on with comments accusing Pax’s owners of putting his health at risk:

“Omg! Why is it so fat, are you feeding him too much? Genuine concern!”

“The dog’s owner is responsible for its weight, since the dog does not determine what it eats and how much exercise it gets. An overweight dog means its owner is failing at providing the basic needs of appropriate diet and exercise. Since the dog is not making this choice for themselves, but will suffer for it, people are right to say something.”

“F***ING PROVE HE WEIGHS 26 POUNDS. My corgi weighs 25 lbs., has a defined waist, is a small male corgi, and has a longer coat than this dog. My corgi is easily half the size of this dog.”

And though one critic remarked that “you can’t ‘fat-shame’ a dog [because] dogs don’t feel shame,” the majority of commenters were outraged that people were picking on this poor pup:

“WTF is wrong with everyone calling this adorable lil’ puppy fat or obese? I mean really? You’ve stooped so low, to come on a dog account and hate on a corgi? If the owner says it’s a healthy pupper then you don’t have an obligation to call it fat or just be mean. It’s a dog, I think something is wrong with you.”